Page 32 of The Kingdom's Crown

Cress finished the thought for me. "Her uniform wasn't right. Are you sure you really want to be taking on ladies-in-waiting?"

"I wouldn't have agreed if I didn't think they'd be good choices," I said, thinking of Nora and Morgan. "They'll make communicating with allies easier, and choosing any reassures my mother that I'm being…normal, I suppose."

Ididwant to see the others, and Iwaseager to find out what Aric and Daniel and the guards had learned from the maid. And yet, I remained against Cresswell, soothed by the beat of his heart, by the warm color he had on his cheeks again, by this soft and paused moment in the midst of so much chaos.

"The others will be worried. We shouldn't fall asleep," Cresswell murmured.

He was right, and I hated to think of Cosmo pacing or Thao picking irritably at the others as he waited. I sighed, and Cresswell rolled us, pausing above me as he helped himself to a long and thorough look at me.

"What are you thinking of?" I asked, fairly certain I already knew the answer.

"Having you again." His voice was low, head bowing to brush a kiss over my forehead. "And again. And again. Hoarding you to myself in that massive bed as the others have to sit and watch."

I was about to laugh at the idea of any of my Chosen being able to stay out of the bed, but Cress's head dipped, full lips stealing my breath again. He kissed me in his perfectly thorough and patient way until the Hunger was simmering again, my arms circling to hold him closer, pull him back into me.

"But not now," Cresswell said, pulling away too easily. He laughed at my growl and skirted out of my reach as I sat up, kicking his pants up from the floor and dressing quickly.

My thighs were messy, and our release slipped out of me as I stood. There was nowhere to wash in the small bedroom, and I frowned at my dress on the floor. It was more formal than I really liked to wear, and Cress had thoroughly torn the laces free.

"Here," he said, tugging the blue velvet from the bed and holding it up in front of me.

"A blanket?" I laughed. "And a dirty one?"

"You're magical aren't you?" Cresswell asked, arching an eyebrow.

I hadn't everintentionallymade myself clothing, although new things did seem to appear and old ones vanished, so we'd suspected the Hunger made a game of my wardrobe. I sighed and closed my eyes, reaching for the velvet. I'd kept the magic I'd made with Cress more easily than I did with Owen or Cosmo or Daniel, as if he'd had a slightly resistant shell around him. It flooded my hands quickly now, rushing into the velvet, a stirring and weighty sensation. When it grew heavier in my grip, I opened my eyes and found a gown, dressed with delicate gold threads of embroidery.

Cresswell took it from me, lifting it over my head, and I sighed as it sank over my shoulders like warm water. The sleeves were loose, the skirt vast and covered in strange scenes of bears with antlers chasing tigers on their hind legs holding bows and arrows, everything dressed with stars and flowers. It was eerie and beautiful, and the longer I looked down at the images, the more it felt as though they were just about to leap to life.

My back was mainly exposed, and much of my chest, but Cresswell buttoned me up around my waist and then bent, kissing the center of my back.

"Sometimes, I feel as though the Hunger knows more about me than I do about it," I said, running my fingers over a depiction of a snake and a rabbit in an embrace that was either threatening or erotic.

"I'm not sure magic is meant to be understood, although don't tell Aric I said so," Cresswell said, moving for the door.

"Wait, you can't open it, remember?" I hurried to join him, and Cresswell placed himself at the entrance as I turned the knob.

I peeked around the edge and found Humphries standing guard. He was an older man, probably about Aric's age, with a perfectly impassive expression and eyes that remained respectfully above my head, even as Cresswell had carried me about.

"One of the Chosen came looking for you both not long ago," he said.

"We'll go now and reassure them you're safe," Cresswell said, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and pulling me to his side.

"Iwas never really in any danger," I said softly, glaring up at Cresswell.

"And you won't be," Cresswell answered, glaring back, but his lips were slightly curled, and even the hint of a smile on him left me giddy.

We found the others in the grandest of the sitting rooms in our suite, and Cresswell barely had the door open before Wendell was rushing over. His hair was sticking out in every direction, eyes red, and I stopped still at the sight of him, strangely surprised by the obvious torment and worry he'd suffered.

He loves me, I realized. We'd said as much, but Wendell was always so calm, so patient, even willing to remain at the fringes as my other Chosen demanded more attention or time.

I ran forward, crashing into his chest, his arms snapping around me and lifting me from the floor.

"Stars, there you are finally," he sighed into the top of my head.

My face was buried against his throat, but I heard the quick rushing of the others' approach, shadows surrounding me, hands on my bare back and wrapping around my waist.

Thao pulled me away first, slanting a quick rough kiss over my mouth, brow furrowed with that same tension as Wendell, and then he released me to Cosmo and Owen, who folded me between them.

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